Abstract

Excellent passivation of n-type crystalline siliconsurface is demonstrated by means of intrinsic amorphous siliconcarbide thin films. An optimum ratio is determined, leading to an effective surface recombination velocity, lower than 54 cm s−1. By adding a constant flow of to the precursor gases, the surface passivation is improved to From infrared spectroscopy measurements of these films, it can be deduced that the flow increases the carbon content of the layers for a constant ratio. The dependence of the effective lifetime, on the excess charge carrier density, is measured using the quasisteady-state photoconductance technique, and these curves are simulated through an electrical model based on an insulator/semiconductor structure.